Currently, airlines and airport operators have little to no visibility of an airport's surface areas and airport assets. The availability of surface management information is lacking and the efficiency is departure metering suffers as a result. Airlines and airport operators need to know in advance and quickly address any chokepoints (e.g., taxiing, deicing, etc.) during the lifecycle of each flight. Furthermore, airport arrivals and departures are currently managed on a first come, first serve basis. For instance, aircraft are taxied out and get in line in order to be sequenced for takeoff. However, when runway demand exceeds an airport's capacity, the result can be long departure taxiing queues, surface congestion, gate holdouts, as well as aircraft gridlock that may result in ground stops and schedule delays while increasing the threat of Tarmac Delay Department of Transportation fines. Furthermore, these delays caused by inefficient surface management can lead to increased fuel usage, and fuel load, increased carbon dioxide emissions and diminished passenger satisfaction.